BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – The U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team fell to Latvia, 5-2, this afternoon at Vladimir Dzurilla Ice Arena in the quarterfinals of the 2026 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship.
“All the credit goes out to Latvia,” said Nick Fohr (Grand Forks, N.D.), head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team. “It wasn’t our night and we ran into a great goaltender. It’s unfortunate it happened in this round but I’m still extremely proud of this group and everything that they’ve done.”
Latvia struck first to make it 1-0 at 9:48 in the opening period. Jamie Glance (Stratham, N.H.) nearly tied the game up at 12:10, but his shot rang off the post towards the boards. Brooks Rogowski (Brighton, Mich.) had a good angle on net at 14:03 but like Glance, his shot hit the pipe and stayed out.
Latvia extended its lead to a pair at 7:55 of the second with a power-play goal. Team USA had several looks on net and outshot Latvia, 13-4, in the second, but Latvia held its two-goal advantage.
The U.S. continued its attack near the midway point as Lukas Zajic (Plainfield, Ill.) broke through for the U.S. at 8:39. A shot from Dayne Beuker (Portland, Ore.) caused a scramble in front as Zajic corralled the puck and potted a wraparound goal past starting Latvian netminder Patriks Plumins.
Latvia answered though to regain its two-goal lead with a breakaway tally at 10:20. Down two, Team USA emptied its net at the 14:41 mark to try and cut into the lead, however, Latvia flipped the puck into the net at 15:45 to make it 4-1.
After the ensuing faceoff, the U.S. emptied its net for the extra attacker once again as Victor Plante (Hermantown, Minn.) capitalized. Casey Mutryn (Norwell, Mass.) found Wyatt Cullen(Moorhead, Minn.) near the slot as he dished it to Plante atop the crease who found twine. Latvia scored on the empty net again though to make it 5-2, the eventual final score.
Brady Knowling (Chicago, Ill.) started in net for Team USA and stopped 11 shots.
NOTES: Jamie Glance (Stratham, N.H.) was named Team USA’s Player of the Game … Sammy Nelson (Maple Grove, Minn.), Wyatt Cullen (Moorhead, Minn.) and Mikey Berchild(Minnetonka, Minn.) were named Team USA’s three best players … The U.S. was 0-2 on the power play, while Latvia was 1-4 … The U.S. outshot Latvia, 45-16 … For complete tournament news, including full schedule, broadcast information, stats and standings, click here … Team USA news, including tournament interviews and highlights, can be found at TeamUSA.USAHockey.com.
